


there is love in shadyside tonight (and tumbleweeds)

by strawberrylipstick



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Angst, Based off Andi's texts, Heartbreak, M/M, Memories, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-23 20:21:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19708723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylipstick/pseuds/strawberrylipstick
Summary: After texting Andi about T.J. and Kira, Cyrus takes a walk.





	there is love in shadyside tonight (and tumbleweeds)

**Author's Note:**

> i'm ready for 3x18 and 3x20 but not ready for this amazing show to end):

Cyrus shut his brightly lit phone with a sigh. Adults are always talking about how teenagers are hooked on their phones, but at that particular moment, he was drained from all the texting—which is supposed to be a one-dimensional activity, meant to describe your emotions, not actually convey them.  And now he wasn’t even following his own advice. Shocker. Chatting with Andi did help, though, even if it did add to the heavy feeling on his chest that had been there for weeks now. 

He decided fresh air would be a good reprieve from the addictive screen, but Cyrus pocketed the small gadget in his jeans nonetheless, just in case an ax murderer decided to tail him. Plus, the best way to get rid of your emotions was to ignore them. Right?

Dawn settled beautifully over the small town, and despite being rather annoyed at the whole place, Cyrus couldn’t help but let out a sigh of content and observe the scene with childish enthusiasm. The sunset was pink and the clouds looked like cotton candy, rendering him rather nostalgic. __

The last time the sunset was this beautiful…

_ Don’t think about that,  _ he told himself firmly, but of course he did anyway. It was about a month ago, and T.J. Kippen had walked alongside him. They were close to each other; somehow, they always seemed to be. The air was light and full of humor. Full of the hope of what-could-be, as his grandmother would describe it.

_ “I can’t believe that the movie was rated R!” Cyrus exclaimed as they strolled, extremely mortified. His blush stubbornly remained, careful not to catch the other boy’s gaze. “I had no clue. I didn’t have my contacts in, so I couldn’t even see the rating, and—”  _

_ “Well, that’s why you look at the details on your phone, Cy.” T.J. seemed rather amused. “I don’t know why they would let us in, though.” _

_ As they finally entered the rather intimate park, Cyrus’ embarrassment melted away, replaced with the familiar comfort he always felt around T.J. “Because you’re way too tall.”  _

_ “Correction: I don’t know why they would let you in.” He laughed. “Anyone with common sense would see you’re Howie’s height.” _

_ Cyrus gasped indignantly at the comparison between him and one the five-year-olds T.J. worked with. “I am not Howie’s height!”  _

_ The two reached the swaying swingset. It was the natural place to be, it seemed. Their feet had led them there without discussing it once.“Right. He’s a bit taller.” _

_ “Well, I may be shorter than you, but you’re the one who suggested this rom-com in the first place.” Cyrus looked up at him mischievously. “The one you said your mom watched. Are you becoming a thirty-four year old woman?” _

_ “Take that back,” T.J. demanded playfully. “Or I’ll never talk to you again.” _

_ “I’m sorry...Mrs. Kippen.” _

_ T.J. looked away huffily, eyes roaming everywhere except Cyrus. It was hard not to laugh, but then he spoke when his gaze became fixated on the sight above. “I can’t be mad at you. Not when the sky looks like that.” _

_ “It’s magical,” Cyrus said without thinking. “I mean... wow.” _

_ The sky emitted serpentine orange light that illuminated the two of them, and T.J. let out a rather wistful sigh as he put his arm around Cyrus’ smaller form. He flushed, and this time it wasn’t from the poorly directed movie displaying scenes not meant to be seen by adolescent middle-schoolers.  _

_ “When I was seven, I wanted to run away from home, so I could follow the horizon.” T.J.’s soft memory intertwined with the breezy air. “I can really see why now.” _

_ “You were adventurous, even then. My Bubbe Rose used to love dusk.” His heart clenched painfully. “She said troubles would go away with the sun.” _

_ “I think she’s right.” T.J. squeezed his shoulder gently, and the two faced each other. Suddenly hyper-aware about how close they were, Cyrus took a step back, breath hitching. _

_ “And now it’s dark.” The only light was coming from streetlamps that weren’t nearly as beautiful. “Want to stay over at my place tonight?” _

_ “Yeah.” T.J. smiled then, brighter than anything else, even the sun… _

Cyrus faced the swingset alone, and he was rather surprised that tears were rolling down his cheeks. T.J. was still there; he was still his friend, to some extent. Sure, he hung out with Kira, but that didn’t have to change anything. 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” he whispered, not quite sure what he was referring to. He’d just texted Andi that he wanted to experience his own heartbreak, but wasn’t this it? There was just this acute loneliness running through him, and Cyrus knew it was dumb, but he couldn’t control the overbearing feelings. 

No matter how much he wanted to.

It felt like it was going to be him, alone, pining over someone that would never feel the same way. His friends would go off and find people that cherished them, but no one valued sidekick Cyrus Goodman, his presence only required for the background. But T.J. had made him feel like the main show. The movie everyone wanted to watch.

He sighed and ended up sitting on the swing, watching the deserted grass tilt from the wind. The sunlight was gone, and Cyrus realized that Bubbe Rose was wrong, for the first time: his troubles hadn’t melted away.

But comic relief came in the form of a tumbleweed. An actual, real-life tumbleweed that he’d just joked with Andi about. Like in those mid-western movies he used to love. Right in front of the swingset. Cyrus laughed, the sound echoing throughout the space, wondering if this was his grandmother’s way of telling him to buck up.

Smiling slightly, he walked away, ready to fall asleep and start all over again. Hurting, but not broken; that was Cyrus Goodman, and it would stay that way…

...And totally unbeknownst to him, another boy came to the same swingset thirty minutes after he’d left. It was T.J. Kippen in the partial darkness, upset that he hadn’t come earlier, and he, too, was reminiscing about someone he was desperately scared of losing.

About someone he loved.

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment on what you think(:


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